Some of us remember multihued and vivid characters such as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Harry the Horse, Brandy Bottle Bates, Liver Lips Louie or Big Jule.

However, it would be better if we didn’t, because the personas have apparently lost their color in director Des McAnuff’s revival of “Guys and Dolls.”

In spite of the fact that the new show brings together high-concept elements, the inquisitively insipid results fail to deliver first-rate entertainment.

 

The grand production, which debuted on Sunday at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre, lacks the jaunty fascination and the impetuous wittiness of Damon Runyon’s tales about the high-life and scoundrel residents of Times Square.

 

In spite of the fact that the fresh “Guys and Dolls” appears to be sufficiently extravagant and appealing thanks to Robert Brill’s neon-swamped settings and the dynamic video backdrops of the Big Apple by Dustin O’Neill, the story is almost killed by motion, which may actually imperil audiences.

 

Outlandishly enough for a play packed with strident jollity, its most pleasant scenes are the more romantic ones, such as the songs performed by Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson, impersonated by Kate Jennings Grant and Craig Bierko, respectively. The characters’ blissful rendition of “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” offers a spirited ambiance, while Grant’s performance of “If I Were a Bell” and Bierko’s flourishing version of “Luck Be a Lady” give the show an idyllic nuance.

 

Nonetheless, theatrical blasts fail to fill this revival, as “Guys and Dolls” is in desperate need of exuberant energy.